Poland
Poland is a democratic parliamentary republic with a stable, robust economy, a member of NATO since 1999, and the European Union since 2004. The country's stability has been recently underscored by the fact that the tragic deaths of President Lech Kaczyński and many members of parliament in a plane crash in 2010 did not have an appreciable negative effect on the Polish currency or economic prospects.
Poland has also successfully joined the Schengen Agreement for an open border to Germany, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Slovakia, and is on track to adopt the Euro currency on a future (yet currently unspecified) date. Poland's dream of rejoining Europe as an independent nation at peace and in mutual respect of its neighbours has finally been achieved.
The countryside throughout Poland is lovely and relatively unspoiled. Poland has a variety of regions with beautiful landscapes, complete with primeval forests, mountain ranges, hidden valleys, grasslands, lakes and small-scale organic and traditional farms. Travellers can choose a number of activities such as bird watching, cycling or horseback riding.
Culturally, you can visit and/or experience many churches, museums, ceramic and traditional basket-making workshops, castle ruins, palaces, rural centres and many more. A journey through the Polish countryside gives you a perfect opportunity to enjoy and absorb local knowledge about its landscape and people.
Study Possibilities in Poland
Universities
Collegium Civitas, Warsaw, Poland
Higher Education in Poland
Poland follows the Bologna scheme and most of its tertiary level programmes are made of two cycles: a three-year bachelor's degree followed by a two-year master's degree. Some master's degrees are however granted after a unique long-cycle programme, lasting between four and six years (Ex: five years for pharmacy, six year for medicine). Doctoral programmes are achieved in about three years. The diploma of primary school teachers requires three years of study within a teacher training college. Vocational education is handled by post-secondary school(szkola policealna) with programmes lasting two and a half years.
Grading system at University level
The university-level education uses a numeric system of grades from two to five, with most grades including 0.5 point increments: 2.0 is the failing grade, 3.0 is the lowest passing grade, followed by 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5, with 5.0 being the highest grade. There is no grade 2.5. Also, 5.5 or 6.0 is sometimes given as an "exceeds expectations" grade, but this differs among various universities and may be equivalent to 5.0 for some purposes. Similarly "3-" is occasionally (but very rarely) given as a "barely passing" grade, but for all official purposes it is equivalent to 3.0.
The grading is done every semester (twice a year), not just once in a school year. Depending on the subject, the final grade may be based on the result of a single exam, or on the student's performance during the whole semester. In the latter case, usually a point system, not the 2–5 scale is used. The points accumulated during the semester are added and converted to a final grade according to some scale.
As a failing grade means merely having to repeat the failed subject, and can usually be corrected on a retake exam (and in some cases also on a special "committee exam"), it is used much more liberally, and it is quite common for a significant number of students to fail a class on the first attempt.
